Hello my dear friends and longsuffering readers. Actually I’m going to spare you another Rabbitsstory. I’m sure you’ve already had enough of Ghaqli riding his horse and cooking and eating and drinking and sleeping. And besides, I guess I’m not the type of writer who would allow his characters to grow bigger than him. Maybe just as big. I believe this is why some writers of famous fiction books would deliberately stray from a successful character-series – against their editors’ advice – to write about another character for another book or series, often ending up with disappointing sales figures.

I guess it’s not the same for some actors in TV series. Although I first saw him in Stuart Little, I can’t imagine Hugh Laurie not being House. (This is why until now I still haven’t watched Street Kings even though I have a DVD.) Or James Spader not being Alan Shore. I find him weird in Secretary. The list goes on. I’m sure you can think of your own favorite characters and the actors/actresses who played them. Ah but who cares about your characters growing bigger than you? I’m sure Hugh Laurie and James Spader are paid more than the supposed salaries of Dr. House and Alan Shore, perhaps even higher than what most doctors and lawyers make.

I guess it won’t be so bad letting your characters grow bigger than you, as long as they bring in the money. As for writing, I wouldn’t mind being the writer of Twighlight and being much less popular than Edward. Especially with the ladies. But as for Ghaqli, I guess he still has a long long way to go.

I do not normally do this, but please forgive me for sharing a short passage from the book I am presently reading. It’s a conversation between a man and a woman.

WOMAN: I call it the sandbox test. If you and your potential mate were dropped in a sandbox, could you have fun there for twenty-four hours? Could you build castles or have a little Zen garden or pretend you were on a beach? Could you improvise a game of Battleship or draw pictures? Could you do something other than have sex or wish you were somewhere else? If the answer is yes, then that’s a person you should consider being with.

MAN: Does it have to be a sandbox? Why not just a hotel room or some form of transportation?”

WOMAN: You would have TV in a hotel room, or magazines and food in an airplane or train. A sandbox demands imagination. You have to look at a mound of sand and see a dune or a mountain or a castle. It requires the ability to play well with each other and to be a little silly. It requires the capacity to access the child inside you. Otherwise you can’t be in a sandbox at all. Or a fun relationship. You also need to be able to communicate. If you don’t have all of that, you’ll be incredibly bored. Or else you’ll end up bickering. Those same qualities are necessary for a successful relationship.

Ah, the sandbox test. I mentioned earlier that Ghaqli still has a long long way to go. Other characters, like Edward, seem like they can go anywhere. But if two people pass the sandbox test, I would say they have already arrived.